Are you stuck in "Tutorial Hell," watching endless videos but never building anything real? In this episode of The Guiding Voice, we sit down with Ankush Dharkar, the founder of Real Dev Squad, to bridge the gap between learning to code and becoming a professional software engineer.

With over a decade of experience at companies like Amazon, Hotstar, and Bloomberg, Ankush reveals the "number one mistake" new programmers make, the difference between a "developer" and an "engineer," and how self-taught developers can stand out in a hyper-competitive market.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

✅ How to escape the tutorial trap and start building real products.

✅ The "High Ownership" mindset that leads to rapid career growth.

✅ Underrated tools and practices every dev should master early (Git, Deployments, and more).

✅ Success Mantras: Why discipline beats motivation every time.

Whether you're an aspiring developer, a self-taught coder, or a senior engineer looking to mentor others, this conversation is packed with actionable career advice.

🚀 Subscribe to The Guiding Voice for more transformative conversations! 👇 Comment below: What is the biggest challenge in your coding journey?

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction & Developer vs. Engineer

00:54 The #1 Mistake New Programmers Make

01:28 What is Real Dev Squad?

02:55 Meet Ankush Dharkar: From Amazon to Mentoring

04:47 Rapid Fire Round 1: Curiosity & Code

07:42 Who is Ankush's Guiding Voice?

08:41 Success Mantra: Parents, Values & Problem Solving

10:15 How to Define Success in the Tech World

12:00 The Origin Story of Real Dev Squad (RDS)

15:11 Why You Must Stop Watching and Start Writing Code

16:30 Simulating a Real-World Corporate Environment

18:22 How Self-Taught Devs Can Stand Out

21:05 Key Behaviors: What Makes a Great Engineer?

22:54 Underrated Tools: Mastering Git & Deployments

25:17 Mindset Shift: Taking Risks & High Ownership

27:06 Rapid Fire Round 2: Motivation is Temporary, Discipline is Forever

31:20 Message to Every Struggling Developer: You Are Not Alone

33:00 Final Advice: Don't Stay in a Box

35:16 Trivia Segment: Rubber Duck Debugging & Code Reading Facts

Guest LI profile link:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankushdharkar/

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